Northwestern trekked north in search of a big “W.”
They found two at Wisconsin on Sunday: a big, red one on the middle of the court inside Kohl Center, where the Wildcats found the other in the form of a 66-59 victory that, barring a major meltdown, puts them in position to qualify for the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.
Bryant McIntosh led the Wildcats with 25 points to go with seven rebounds and seven assists to help the snap their losing skid at two and pad their March resume with a signature road victory against the seventh-ranked team in the country.
A 16-0 run, fueled by a pair of 3-pointers each from Vic Law and Nathan Taphorn, helped push Northwestern to a 31-22 halftime lead against the Badgers, who fell to 13-1 at home and saw their winning streak halted at eight.
The Wildcats are without leading scorer Scottie Lindsey for the third straight game because of mono.
Lindsey could return for Wednesday’s game against Maryland, but it’s also possible he doesn’t come back until the Wildcats (19-6, 8-4 Big Ten) face Rutgers on Saturday.
Wisconsin (21-4, 10-2) has been led by Ethan Happ, who has seven points, five rebounds and two assists.
Taphorn made his first start since his freshman season, and just his second in 98 career games.
pskrbina@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @ChiTribSkrbina
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